Infant carrier

ABSTRACT

A carrier for an infant child includes a fabric pouch in which the child can be seated having leg openings near its bottom end and a unique strap arrangement includes shoulder straps and reinforcing straps so connected to the pouch and to one another as to permit secure but adjustable suspension either from the front or back of the user. A head support is disposed between the open upper end of the pouch and the shoulder straps in a manner such that it can be retained in a head-supporting position or folded down into the pouch in an out-of-the-way position.

United States Patent [191 Hansson Dec. 25, 1973 1 INFANT CARRIER [75]Inventor: Margaret S. Hansson, Boulder,

12/1933 Great Britain 224/6 11/1950 Austria 224/6 Primary ExaminerGeraldM. Forlenza Assistant Examiner]erold M. Forsberg Attorney-Reilly andLewis [57] ABSTRACT A carrier for an infant child includes a fabricpouch in which the child can be seated having leg openings near itsbottom end and a unique strap arrangement includes shoulder straps andreinforcing straps so connected to the pouch and to one another as topermit secure but adjustable suspension either from the front or back ofthe user. A head support is disposed between the open upper end of thepouch and the shoulder straps in a manner such that it can be retainedin a head-supporting position or folded down into the pouch in anout-of-the-way position.

9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures INEA-N'ZIECARRIER Titer-present invention;generally concernsa carrier for aninfantchild;andzmore particularlyrelates to a.

fab-riccarrier ofthetyperwhich may be suspended from the-shoulders ofa;user.

Childcarriersoffthevtype which are adapted-to be suspended; fromv the.shoulders of a user are. now in widespread'use forrcarryingchildrenin'piggyback fashionover terrain not adapted for travel by wheeledcarts, carriages andzthezlik-e. Such carriers are. often usedzbym-en-and;women. in hikingandother extendedwalkingactivitiesso:thatsitsisimportant that the carrierbe'.-c.omfo.rtable:for both the user and the child. Generallythecarriers .includea frameworkof metal or some other-rigid materialifrom which is suspended a fabric pouch-inwhichthe-childfican sit. Thistype of carrier, however; ispractically speaking'limited for use withchildrenof at least thetoddler stage because of the size of -theframe.necessary torcomfortboth the user and the child. Anexampleofsuch-acarrier is disclosed in US. Letters Pat. No. 3;097',773"issued. to G. A.Cunning.-

ham"; Carriersadaptedtfdr use with babies or infants of.

only a few month's ofrage, generally speaking, are designediso thattheinfant is heldclose to the body of the user where the. infant'has afeelingof security. Typical of such infant carriers are those disclosedin US. Letters-Pat. No. 3,481,517to A: L. Aukerman and in US.Letters-Pat. No. 2,411,331 to N. Nettleship.

ln -carriersfor infants or babiesof a very young age, it is-preferablydesirable that the carrier includea support'for theinfants head; sinceit is-frequently the case that theinfant is-not strong enoughtoindependently hold his head erect. However, as the infant grows olderand requires less head. support, it isdesirable. for the comfort andcontentment of the infant that his head not be;confined.so that he.isfree to move his head and observe his surroundings.-

Thetinfant carrier ofthe present invention is made of alightfiexiblefabric material and includes a pouch in which'the child can beseated. The pouch is uniquely securedto strap means which are adapted topass over theshoulders of the-userso that the child can be supportedeither in front'orin back of the user. A head support is-flexiblyconnected to the shoulder straps so that nit*is-movablebetween anin-useposition wherein it supports thehead of'the-Jnfant and anout-of-use position wherein it is fOIdBdi'dOWH into the pouch with theinfant so. that the infant s head is free to moveabout withoutrestriction. A'pair of reinforcement straps are attachedtothe-pouch-in-such a manner that they-reinforce thepouch at'tthe:bottom wherethe maximum amount ofwear occursand. also serve toadjustably and releasably connect thehead support to the shoulder strapsfor easy manipulation of the-headsupport.

Accordingly, it is-an object of the present invention to. provide aninfant carrier of the-type adapted to be suspendedv from th'e.shouldersof a userhavinga head support :which is-movable between in-use andout-ofuse-positions.

ltiisanotherobject of'the present invention to providean-infa'nt carrierwitha head support movablebe- It is a further object of. thepresentinvention to provide. an infant carrier of the type which canbesuspended from the shoulders of a'user eitherin-.front or:

in back of the user and has an adjustable'reinforcing and shoulder straparrangement which reinforces-the carrier to extend its'useful life.

Other objects, advantages and featuresof the present invention willbecome more readily appreciated andunderstood from a consideration ofthe. followingzdee tailed description taken in conjunction with'theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of-the carrier-suspended from the shouldersof a user with a child seated therein; FIG. 2 is a front elevation ofthe carrier shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the carrier of FIG. 1; and' FIG. 4 is abottom plan of the carrier of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings which show by way of illustrative exampleaninfant carrier 10 constructed in accordance with the presentinvention, the-infant carrier 10 can beseen in FIG. 1 to include apouch-12' in. which the infant can be seated, a head support- 16 forholding the infant's head in an erect position, and

supporting straps generally designated 18 including: shoulder straps 20and reinforcement straps 221 The pouch 12 is made of a strong butflexiblefabric material such aslight canvas or the like and when notfolded has a cup-like configuration with leg openings 24near the bottomend 26 thereof and an open upper end 28 through which the upper torsoand head of the infant can protrude when seated in thepouch. Thesupporting straps 18 for the carrier are also made of a strong butflexiblefabric material such as light canvas and each includes ashoulder strap 20 and a reinforcement strap 22 which are secured to thepouch as by sewing in a specific arrangement to be describedhereinafter.

Referring first to the shoulder straps 20, they can be seen in FIG. 2 tohave one end sewn as at 29 to the front portion 31 of the pouch adjacentthe open upper end 28'. The shoulder straps extend away from the upperend of the pouch in a divergent angle so that they form a substantiallyV-shaped configuration whereby when the carrier 10 is in use, theshoulder straps can be comfortably extended over the shoulders of theuser. The shoulder straps are comprised of a cushioning portion 30 and afastening portion32 each of which defines approximately one-half thelength of the shoulder straps.'The cushioning portion is wider than thefastening portion and comprises the segment of the shoulder strap whichlies on the shoulder of the user and is sewn to the upper end of thepouch. The wide cushioning; portion 30 of the shoulder strapsdistributes the weightof the infant across a substantial area of theshoulders:

of the user for optimum comfort. Theend of the-cushioning portion 30which is not sewn to the pouch is securely sewn to one end of thenarrower fasteningzportion 32so that the fastening portion has a freeend 33 available to be attached to a reinforcement strap 22 as will bediscussed hereinafter.

The reinforcement straps 22 are approximately the same width as thefastening portion 32-of the shoulder straps 20 andare also made of astronglbut flexible material such as light canvas. They are secured tothe pouch 20 as by sewingin such a manner that they have free lower ends34 which extend away from thefront portion of the pouch in between'theleg openings 24 and criss-cross at the bottom of the pouch beforeextending upwardly across the rear portion 36 of the pouch toward theopen upper end 28. The upper portions of the reinforcement straps 22extend beyond the open upper end of the pouch and each is sewn to oneside edge of the head support 16 so as to retain the head support inslightly spaced relation from the open upper end 28 of the pouch. Thereinforcement straps extend on beyond the upper edge of the head supportdefining free upper ends 38 (FIG. 3) of the reinforcement straps whichare adapted to be adjustably and releasably attached to the shoulderstraps 20 as by buckles 40 which are affixed to the shoulder straps at aposition which is substantially equispaced between the two ends of thecushioning portion 30 of the shoulder straps. The lower free ends 34 ofthe reinforcement straps are provided with fasteners 42, such as D-ringfasteners, so that the free ends 33 of the fastening portion 32 of theshoulder straps can be easily and readily adjustably attached to thelower ends of the reinforcement straps. When the fastening straps areattached to the reinforcement straps, a closed loop is establishedwhereby the carrier can be comfortably suspended from the shoulders of auser. The adjustment allowed by the D-ring fasteners 42 enables the userto position the carrier for optimum comfort both to himself and theinfant.

It will be appreciated that, with the reinforcement straps 22criss-crossing at the bottom 26 of the pouch, the pouch will bereinforced to give added strength to the area where the infants weightis concentrated. Thus, the useful life of the pouch is extended byproviding additional strength to the fabric in the area where there isthe greatest tendency for the fabric to wear.

It can be seen that, by disconnecting the upper free ends 38 of thereinforcement straps from the buckles 40 on the cushioning portion 30 ofthe shoulder straps, the head support 16 along with the upper portion ofthe reinforcement straps can be folded down into the pouch 12 in theout-of-use position so that the infants head movement will not beinhibited by the head support. In reverse, it is very simple to draw thehead support and upper portion of the reinforcement straps back out ofthe pouch and quickly and easily attach the free upper ends of thereinforcement straps to the buckles on the shoulder straps to againsecure the head support in its in-use position. The simple procedure formoving the head support between in-use and out-of-use positions makesthe carrier 10 adaptable for use with infants in various stages ofgrowth. It also makes the carrier useful when it is desirable that aninfants head be supported some of the time, perhaps when sleeping, andunsupported the remainder of the time. Also, the reinforcement strapsare adjustably secured in the buckles 40 so that the position of thehead support when in its in-use position can be adjusted to satisfyvariables such as the size of the infant and particularly his head size.

Another important feature of the invention isthe spaced relationshipbetween the head support 16 and the open upper end 28 of the pouch whicheliminates any bulk folds in the material when the head support isfolded into the pouch in the out-of-use position asmight be present ifthe pouch were integral ,with the head support. This prevents any unduediscomfort for the infant which, as is well known, is critical to thecontentment of the infant.

Since the carrier is fabricated of a light fabric material, an importantfeature of the carrier is that the effective load supported by the useris not much different that the weight of the infant himself. Anotherimportant feature of the carrier is that it can be folded into a verysmall package because of the minimum amount of fabric used in itsconstruction, and thus carried in the purse or pocket of the user whennot in use.

Although the present invention has been described with a certain degreeof particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has beenmade by way of example and that changes in details of structure may bemade without departing from the spirit thereof.

7 What is claimed is:

1. A carrier for an infant comprising in combination a pouch in whichthe infant can be seated, said pouch including a pair of lower legopenings and an open upper end, shoulder strap means affixed to thepouch and adapted to pass over the shoulders of a user, and a headsupport defining an extension of the pouch on the side thereof oppositethe shoulder strap connection to the pouch, and means releasablyconnecting the upper portion of the head support to said shoulder strapmeans at a location along the length of the shoulder strap means in amanner such that the head support serves as a firm flexible support forthe infants head.

2. The carrier of claim 1 wherein said means releasably connecting thehead support to the shoulder straps includes a pair of reinforcementstraps secured to the pouch and the head support and having free endsadapted to be individually connected to the shoulder strap means toretain the head support in an in-use position.

3. The carrier of claim 2 wherein said head support comprises a piece offlexible fabric sewn to the reinforcement straps whereby when thereinforcement straps are disconnected from the shoulder strap means thereinforcement straps can be folded so that the head support ispositioned within the pouch in an out-of-use position. I

4. The carrier of claim 3 wherein said head support is connected to thereinforcement steaps in spaced relation to the open upper end of thepouch.

5. A carrier for an-infant comprising in combination a pouch in whichthe infant can be seated, said pouch including a pair of leg openingsnear the bottom and open at the upper end, a pair of shoulder strapseach having one end secured to the pouch near the open upper end of thepouch for extension of said shoulder straps over the shoulders of auser, reinforcement straps secured to the pouch including free lowerends adapted to be individually attached to the free ends of theshoulder straps and free upper ends adapted to be attached to theshoulder straps at a preselected location along the length of theshoulder straps, and a head support secured to the reinforcement strapsnear the free upper ends whereby when the free upper ends are secured tothe shoulder straps the head of the infant will be supported andcomfortably held in place.

6. The carrier of claim 5 wherein said reinforcement straps comprise apair of elongated straps being secured to the pouch along anintermediate portion of the straps so that the free lower ends extendawayfrom the pouch adjacent the leg openings and the free upper endsextend away from the pouch adjacent the open upper end.

7. The carrier of claim 6 wherein said reinforcement straps cross eachother at the bottom end of the pouch adjacent the leg openings.

8. The carrier of claim 6 wherein said pouch, shoulder straps,reinforcement straps, and head support are made of a strong but flexiblefabric material.

9. A carrier for an infant comprising in combination a fabric pouch inwhich the infant can be seated, said pouch including a pair of legopenings near the bottom and an open upper end through which theinfant's head can protrude, a pair of flexible fabric shoulder strapssecured at one end to one side of the pouch near the open upper end ofthe pouch, said shoulder straps having free opposite ends adapted to bepassed over the shoulders of a user, a pair of flexible fabricreinforcement straps secured to the pouch with free lower ends extendingaway from the bottom of the pouch on said one side, said reinforcementstraps criss-crossing at the bottom of said pouch and extending up theopposite side of said pouch from said one side and having free upperends extending away from the open upper end of the pouch on saidopposite side, said free upper ends being adapted to be individuallyreleasably attached to the shoulder straps at a preselected locationalong the length of the shoulder straps, said free lower ends of thereinforcement straps and the free opposite ends of the shoulder strapshaving fasteners whereby they can be individually fastened together tocomplete loops which pass over and under the shoulders of the user forsupporting the carrier on the shoulders of the user, and a fabric headsupport secured to the reinforcement straps in spaced relation from theopen upper end of the pouch whereby'when the free upper ends of thereinforcement straps are fastened to the shoulder straps the headsupport will securely and comfortably support the head of an infantseated in the pouch and when the free upper ends of the reinforcementstraps are not fastened to the shoulder straps can be folded to allowthe head support to be positioned within the pouch in an out-of-- useposition.

@2 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 19Dated 25 December 1973 Inventor(s) Margaret H nsson It is certified thaterror appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the Claims:

Column 4, line 43, cancel "steaps" and substitute straps Signed andsealed this 9th day of April 197A.-

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER-,JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting; OfficerGommissionerof Patents

1. A carrier for an infant comprising in combination a pouch in whichthe infant can be seated, said pouch including a pair of lower legopenings and an open upper end, shoulder strap means affixed to thepouch and adapted to pass over the shoulders of a user, and a headsupport defining an extension of the pouch on the side thereof oppositethe shoulder strap connection to the pouch, and means releasablyconnecting the upper portion of the head support to said shoulder strapmeans at a location along the length of the shoulder strap means in amanner such that the head support serves as a firm flexible support forthe infant''s head.
 2. The carrier of claim 1 wherein said meansreleasably connecting the head support to the shoulder straps includes apair of reinforcement straps secured to the pouch and the head supportand having free ends adapted to be individually connected to theshoulder strap means to retain the head support in an in-use position.3. The carrier of claim 2 wherein said head support comprises a piece offlexible fabric sewn to the reinforcement straps whereby when thereinforcement straps are disconnected from the shoulder strap means thereinforcement straps can be folded so that the head support ispositioned within the pouch in an out-of-use position.
 4. The carrier ofclaim 3 wherein said head support is connected to the reinforcementsteaps in spaced relation to the open upper end of the pouch.
 5. Acarrier for an infant comprising in combination a pouch in which theinfant can be seated, said pouch including a pair of leg openings nearthe bottom and open at the upper end, a pair of shoulder straps eachhaving one end secured to the pouch near the open upper end of the pouchfor extension of said shoulder straps over the shoulders of a user,reinforcement straps secured to the pouch including free lower endsadapted to be individually attached to the free ends of the shoulderstraps and free upper ends adapted to be attached to the shoulder strapsat a preselected location along the length of the shoulder straps, and ahead support secured to the reinforcement straps near the free upperends whereby when the free upper ends are secured to the shoulder strapsthe head of the infant will be supported and comfortably held in place.6. The carrier of claim 5 wherein said reinforcement straps comprise apair of elongated straps being secured to the pouch along anintermediate portion of the straps so that the free lower ends extendaway from the pouch adjacent the leg openings and the free upper endsextend away from the pouch adjacent the open upper end.
 7. The carrierof claim 6 wherein said reinforcement straps cross each other at thebottom end of the pouch adjacent the leg openings.
 8. The carrier ofclaim 6 wherein said pouch, shoulder straps, reinforcement straps, andhead support are made of a strong but flexible fabric material.
 9. Acarrier for an infant comprising in combination a fabric pouch in whichthe infant can be seated, said pouch including a pair of leg openingsnear the bottom and an open upper end through which the infant''s headcan protrude, a pair of flexible fabric shoulder straps secured at oneend to one side of the pouch near the open upper end of the pouch, saidshoulder straps having free opposite ends adapted to be passed over theshoulders of a user, a pair of flexible fabric reinforcement strapssecured to the pouch with free lower ends extending away from the bottomof the pouch on said one side, said reinforcement straps criss-crossingat the bottom of said pouch and extending up the opposite side of saidpouch from said one side and having free upper ends extending away fromthe open upper end of the pouCh on said opposite side, said free upperends being adapted to be individually releasably attached to theshoulder straps at a preselected location along the length of theshoulder straps, said free lower ends of the reinforcement straps andthe free opposite ends of the shoulder straps having fasteners wherebythey can be individually fastened together to complete loops which passover and under the shoulders of the user for supporting the carrier onthe shoulders of the user, and a fabric head support secured to thereinforcement straps in spaced relation from the open upper end of thepouch whereby when the free upper ends of the reinforcement straps arefastened to the shoulder straps the head support will securely andcomfortably support the head of an infant seated in the pouch and whenthe free upper ends of the reinforcement straps are not fastened to theshoulder straps can be folded to allow the head support to be positionedwithin the pouch in an out-of-use position.